By Staff Reporter
MASTUNG: A roadside bomb killed three policemen and wounded at least 16 others in southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, officials said, the latest attack in a surge of violence linked to separatist militants targeting security forces.
The explosion struck a vehicle belonging to the Balochistan Constabulary as policemen returned from security duty near a weeks-long protest in Mastung district, provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind said. The policemen had been deployed to guard a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), which has accused authorities of unjustly detaining Bloch rights activists.
The BNP-M’s protest, now in its 19th day, has heightened tensions in a region where security forces frequently clash with insurgents.
“Three personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary were martyred in the blast, and 16 others were injured, two critically,” Rind said.
Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police Younas Magsi said 18 were wounded, adding that the officers were attacked while traveling a routine route back to their base after duty.
The injured were rushed to hospitals in Quetta, the provincial capital 50 km (31 miles) away, with emergency protocols activated at major facilities, officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has intensified attacks in 2024 as part of a decades-long insurgency over autonomy and resource rights in the mineral-rich region.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, has seen a 45% rise in terrorism-related deaths over the past year, according to the 2025 Global Terrorism Index.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, vowing in a statement carried by state media to “eradicate the scourge of terrorism.”
“We will thwart the nefarious designs of the terrorists, who are enemies of humanity. Our war against terrorists will continue until the scourge of terrorism is completely eradicated from the country.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered authorities to ensure top-tier medical care for the wounded, warning that attackers “will not be spared.”
The bombing follows a Monday gunfight in Noshki district that killed a soldier and two militants. Security forces also foiled an attack on a Levies post in the same district, injuring a terrorist.
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